Houzz is a useful site for interior decorating and design as it illustrates the way the great number of rooms can be finished and furnished. But you’ll come across a photograph of a space devoid of furnishings. Such anomalies capture houses before the owner goes in, allowing the area to be “read” without the extra information of furniture and private embellishments. Even the minimum houses seldom remain so caked as the photographs that follow, but discussion of them will reveal some of the qualities of the inside made more apparent from such a demonstration.

More: How to Take Beautiful Home Photos

Elliott Kaufman

Beyond the table in the foreground is a vacant area, save some firewood next to the fireplace. Without furniture, the shiny floor reflects the wall opposite and in left, the latter of which can be reflected in the glass surface. Without furniture, the asymmetrical positioning of the windows becomes even more evident.

James Hill Architect

The space, with its central fireplace, might not be as slick as the preceding photograph, but some qualities still rise to the fore: mainly, the directionality of this floor and ceiling, two parallel planes in wood.

Cary Bernstein Architect

Another lonely fireplace. This furniture-free photo illustrates the diagonals of this chimney and ceiling, in addition to how the translucent panels onto the opposite wall split up that expanse. I’m guessing the fireplace tools at the foreground function to give the kink a justification, although I’d love to see a triangle of firewood ongoing the diagonal to the floor.

FR James Construction

This apartment is photographed so the engineered wood walls get all of the attention. Even the view outside is cleaned out it is almost pure white.

FR James Construction

Another view shows some minimal furniture (a puppy bed?) , however it illustrates how the striated wood walls are similar to three-dimensional objects within the white area.

Ian Moore Architects

This distance in a house in Australia may look beyond empty, but something is going on between these sliding glass doors. Take a closer look, second.

Ian Moore Architects

This perspective shows what the house abuts: “a 3-storey high sandstone cliff which at one time formed part of the shoreline of Sydney Harbour,” according to architect Ian Moore. Needless to say, furniture could divert from this formidable element, but I’m curious to understand how the owners really did furnish the distance. It is not often one deals with a boulder in their own living space.

Ian Moore Architects

1 final look in the boulder. It’s quite the background!

Ian Moore Architects

In precisely the same house since the boulder is a wall which houses the kitchen. Not as striking as a rock, this picture nevertheless brings attention to the detail, design, and lighting which shape this work place.

Amitzi Architects

The shortage of furniture in this area (minus the small table at the far corner) enables the ribbon-like windows at the space to be distinguished. The windows operate horizontally and vertically as it turns the corner.

Furman + Keil Architects

Photographing rooms with no furniture also draws attention to the shape of this room. In this window renovation the ceiling dominates, partly from the standpoint but also from the lack of anything on the floor to contend with the trusses and the slope of the ceiling.

Peter A. Sellar – Architectural Photographer

A similar shape is located within this hallway which culminates in, well, a space without seating. A glance from another direction…

Peter A. Sellar – Architectural Photographer

. . .reveals the same. There are people in these pictures to give some sense of scale!

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